Imani All Mine

the long version

Imani All Mine brings together Connie Porter's insight into childhood and her firsthand knowledge of life in today's ghettoized world with the marvelously affecting story of Tasha, fifteen years old and the mother of a baby girl. "Mama say I'm grown now because I got Imani. She say Imani all mine. I know she all mine, and I like it just like that, not having to share my baby with no one." In her clear, pitch-perfect voice, Tasha recounts her days of diapers and schoolwork, of girl talk on the playground and terror in her ever more violent neighborhood. Tasha is a remarkable creation, a child mothering a child - bright, funny, brimming with the hopefulness and frank wisdom of youth. The name she gives her daughter, Imani, is a sign of her determination and fundamental trust despite the odds against her: Imani means faith. Imani All Mine is street-smart and lyrical, hilarious, tender, and tragic. Tasha's voice speaks directly to both the special pain of poverty and the universal, unconquerable spirit of youth.